Electric wire terminal



Oct. 19, 1948. I R. H. BENTLEY 2,451,466

ELECTRIC WIRE-TERMINAL Filed Feb. 28, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .ZizverliarROBERT- HBENTLEY e 7421; afi-a rneysf Oct. 19, 1948. R. H. BENTLEY2,451,466

ELECTRIC WIRE TERMINAL Filed Feb. 28, 1946 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 hvenior-ROBKRT H. BENTLEY Patented Oct. 19, 1948 ELECTRIC WIRE TERMINAL RobertH. Bentley, Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Arrow-Hart I: HegemanElectric Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of ConnecticutApplication February 28, 1946, Serial No. 650,948

s Claims. (Cl. 173-259) This invention relates to electric wireterminals for use with electrical devices of all sorts.

It is an object of the invention to provide a terminal construction inwhich the bared end of an electric wire may be inserted through apassage in an insulating body into engagement with the terminal and maybe there secured more effectively than by mere clamping action, yetwithout the need for bending the wire around the shank of a terminalscrew. A related object is to accomplish the securing by means of ascrew bolt without bending the wire around the screw shank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a terminal connection forthe bared end of an electric wire which is inserted through a passage inan insulating block into engagement with the terminal and is there heldautomatically without the need for a .securing screw or bolt.

Another object is to provide in terminals of the foregoing types, meansto limit to a predetermined length the amount of wire inserted throughthe insulating block.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved wire terminalstructure of the foregoing type which may be cheaply manufactured andassembled and which in use will reduce the cost of connecting wires toelectric devices.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as itis described in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section view taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the metallic parts employed inthe invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another form of the invention,"

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;,

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the parts employed in' theform of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 4 and '5.

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but of a third form of theinvention.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, the insulating block "I may be part of anyelectrical device. The conducting parts of the terminal comprise astamped sheet metal terminal member ll of substantially U-shape having acentral portion i2 from the sides of which parallel side plates i3 and Il are bent down. There is an extension I 2e from the bolt I 8 passingthrough the block it from one side so as to secure the member l2 uponthe other side of the block.

The side plates l3'and l4 are provided with similar notches 22 toreceive square-sectioned trunnion extensions 2| of a jaw member 20 whichis pivotally mounted between'the side plates l3 and i4 and pivots uponthetrunnions as they seat within the notches 22. The notches 22 are madewith their mouths of width equal to the thickness of the jaw member 20,and with their bot-- toms slightly greater in width, i..e. the notchesdiverge inwardly, so that the square. trunnions 2| may be insertedsideways. Thereafter the jaw pivots slightly whereupon the trunnions areheld in the notches because their diagonal dimensions being greater,will not permit them to move out of the mouths of the notches. Toreceive the bare end 25 of an electric wire, a round hole-i1 is formedin the central portion l2 of the terminal member. This hole I! is inpartial register with a, round hole 23 formed in the jaw member 20 andboth the holes I! and 23 are in partial register with passage or bore 26in the block Hi.

In order that the terminal member and its associated jaw 20 may bereceived within the block ill, the block is hollowed out. Inclined sur-.faces 30 are provided within the recess 28 adjacent one end thereof,upon which the jaw member may lie and by which the pivotal movement ofthe jaw member in a direction away from the mid portion of the member l2may be limited. Thus the inclined surfaces are within the area betweenthe side plates l3 and I4.

A binding screw or bolt 32 is threaded into a hole IS in the mid portionof the member l2 between the holes I 5 and I! in such a position thatthe end of the screw bolt 32 may engage the free end of the jaw member20. V

In use of the terminal the bared end 25 of an electric wire is threadedthrough the passage 26 in the block l0 and then through the hole 23 inthe jaw 20 and iinally through the hole H in the member l2. Thereafter-the screw bolt 32 is turned down until its end engages the jaw 20 andcauses the jaw to pivot about its trunnions 2| of the notches 22 in theside plates 13 and I4 of the member l2, whereupon the diagonallyopcentral portion having formed therein a screw threaded aperture I!which receives a securing posite edges of the aperture 23 in the jawmember 20, i. e. top edge at the left side and the bottom edge at theright side, as viewed in Fig. 3, will bite into oppositesides of thebare wire end 25 atspaced points thereon, thus gripping the wire endfirmly. This gripping action tends to press the left side of the lowerpart of the bored However, with some of the heavier gauges of wire usedin house wiring. an extremely firm and adequate grip may be had even ifthe hole I1 is omitted. In such case the inner or under surface ofthecentral portion l2 will serve as a stop to limit the amount of wirethat may be passed into the block passage 25.

A similar limiting function may be performed, when the hole I1 ispresent, by the head of the screw 32, which overlies the hole I'I. Thusthe' end of the wire will engage the underside of the head of the screw32 to stop further movement of the wire. (See Fig. 3.)

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 'l the stop function ofthe central portion of the terminal plate is combined with the advantageof an additional bearing and contact engagement between the wire andfrom the inside of the central portion of the terminal plate so that theend of the wire, when abutting the plate, may move sideways to engagethe shoulder of the indentation as the terminal screw 32 is turned down.

Referring to the form of invention illustrated in Figs. 4, and 6,'aninsulating block 50 may be a part of any electrical device. On thisblock is mounted a sheet metal terminal member designated generally bythe numeral 52 and comprising a flat plate like mid portion 54 from thesides of which flat plate extensions 56 and 58 are bent at right angles,parallel to one another. The plates 58 and 58 maybe and preferably areof lesser length than the mid portion 5. The member 54 is secured uponthe top surface of the block 50 by means of a'securing bolt 60 passingthrough the block 50 from one side and threaded into an aperture 62 inthe portion 54.

In the end edges of side plates 55 and 58, inwardly diverging notches 55are provided to re ceive square-sectioned trunnion-like extensions 88 ofthe flat jaw member 10, which is preferably stamped from sheet metal.

As in the previous form of the invention, a hole I1 is provided in themember 52 in partial register with a hole 23' in the member 10, bothholes being in partial register with a passage 26' in the block 50. Inorder to make the jaw '10 automatically grip the bare end of theelectric wire, a leaf spring member designated generally by numeral 80is provided. The leaf spring 80 is preferably stamped from spring steelas a strip and is bent permanently into an acute angle as bestillustrated in Fig. 6. One arm 82 lies upon the top surface of themember 52 and is secured there by a screw 84 threaded through anaperture through the end of the arm 82 and screwed into a registeringscrew threaded hole 55 in the member 52. In order that the bare end 25'of the wire may pass freely through this arm 82, an aperture 86, equalto or larger than the the terminal plate. v That is done by striking upan indentation p 4 v .x from the upper end of the jaw member Il may"extend. By means of this extension, the jaw may be manipulated if andwhen necessary to release the wire as is hereinafter more fullyexplained.

For the purpose of urging the jaw 10 in clockwise direction (referringto Fig. 5) about its trunnion bearings, the other end of the springmember 80 passes around the pivoted end of the jaw member 10 and liesbeneath the lower surface of the jaw member and has a bent finger 92 onits end extending up through an aperture IS in the jaw 10. Thus, the endof the finger 92 lies upon the uppermost end surface of the free end ofthe jaw Ill and causes the action of the spring to be extendeddownwardly on the jaw.

To enable the wire 25' to pass freely through the spring arm 90, anaperture 94 larger than, and in register with, the aperture 23' isprovided in the arm 90. 4

In use of the terminal, the bare end of the wire 25' is threaded throughthe passage 28' and through the registering apertures 94 and 23 in thespring and jaw member respectively, and

' then through the registering apertures l1 and B6 in the members 54 and80, respectively. During this passage, the jaw Ill may pivot upwardly(referring to Fig. 5) 'bringing the aperture 23' in more accurateregister with passage 28 and the hole i'l to permit the end 25 to threadtherethrough. However, when a reverse attempt is made to pull the wireout of the passage 28, the

action of the spring member 82 causes the jaw to grip thesides ofthewire in a manner similar to the pressure exerted by the screw bolt 32 inthe previously described form of Figs. 1-3. Since the action of thisspring is in a direction to move the aperture 23' of the jaw member 10out of register with the passage 25 and concomitantly to cause grippingof the upper left edge of that aperture with the left sideofthe wire 25'and the lower right edge of the aperture 23' with the right side of thewire, the greater the pull on'the wire, the greater will be the grippingaction of. the jaw. The wire is thus held with a grip far greater thanany maximum force which would normally be encountered in the normal useof the terminal. a

It is possible to release the gripping action of the terminal updn thewire 25 by pressing downwardly (referring to Figs. 4 and 5) upon theextension 18 with a screw driver or other imple-- ment, whereupon thewire may be quite easily withdrawn.

As in the previously described forms the hole II' may be omitted or, asa substitute an inden-. tation like 40 may be provided, in the terminalmember 54. i

From the foregoing it may be observed that I have provided a novel wireterminal structure which may be inexpensively manufactured and assembledand is capable of general use with electrical devices and which providesan extremely effective, certain and positive grip on a bare wire end.

In my co-pending application, S. .N. 720,413, filed January 6, 1947, myinvention is disclosed in another form and claims are made to bespecifically and in generic form.

Modifications, within the scope of my invention will occur to thoseskilled in the art therehole I1 is punched in the arm 82. At the bendofthe spring member 82, a rectangular aperture .8 is provided throughwhich an extension 18.

fore I do not limit my invention to the preferred embodiments hereinillustrated and described.

I claim:

1. An electric terminal connector comprising an" insulating body, aconductive member mounted onone side of said body and having a holetherein, said body having a passageway terminating at the other side ofsaid body, a jaw member having a fixed pivotal connection with saidconductive member and having an aperture in partial register with saidpassageway and hole to receive the bared end of an electric wire,inserted through said passageway into said jaw aperture, and meanscausing the edges of said jaw aperture simultaneously 'to grip oppositesides of said wire end and to cause the wi e to engage the side of saidhole.

2. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aconductive member mounted on one side of said body, a jaw memberassociated with said conductive member, said body having a passagewayterminating at the other side of said body and said jaw having anaperture positioned so that the bared end of a wire may be insertedthrough said passageway into said jaw aperture, and means causing edgesof said jaw aperture simultaneously to grip opposite sides of said wireend, said means also causing another portion of said wire and to pressagainst the surface of said passageway, whereby to hold the wire fromremoval.

3. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aconductive member mounted thereon, a pivoted jaw member associated withsaid conductive member, a fixed pivotal mounting for said jaw member,said body .having a passageway and said jaw having an aperturepositioned so that the bared end of a wire may be inserted through thepassageway into the jaw aperture, and means mounted on said conductivemember and acting on the jaw member to tilt it relative to said wire ina direction to cause the edges of said jaw aperture firmly to gripopposite sides of said wire end, the direction of tilt being such that apull on said wire increases the gripping action of the jaw on both sidesof the wire.

4. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aconductive member mounted thereon. a tiltable jaw member pivotallyassociated with said conductive member, a fixed pivot for said jawmember, said body having a passage and said jaw member having anaperture positioned so that when the bared end of a wire is insertedthrough said aperture engagement of the wire with the sides of saidaperture will tend to move the jaw to improve the registration of saidaperture and passage, said engagement acting oppositely on attempt atreverse movement of said wire and thereby making said jaw firmly gripsaid wire simultaneously on both sides, and means engaging said jawmember to cause it to grip said wire simultaneously on both sides.

5. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aU-shaped conductive member mounted on one side of said body and havingnotches in its side portions, said body having a passage terminating atthe other side of said body, a jaw member between said side =portionshaving trunnions pivoting in said notches, afi'ording a fixed pivot forsaid jaw member. said jaw having an. aperture positioned so that thebared end of an electric wire may be inserted through said passagewayinto said jaw aperture, and means causing edges of said jaw aperturesimultaneously to grip opposite sides of said wire end.

6. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aconductive member 7. An electric wire terminal connection asclaimed inclaim 3 wherein the means acting on the jaw to tilt it is a screw bolt.

8. An electric wire terminal connection as claimed in claim 3 havingmeans to limit to a predetermined length the portion of said wire whichmay pass through said passageway.

9. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body, aconductive member mounted thereon, a. jaw member associated with saidconductive member, said body having a passage and said jaw having anaperture'positioned so that the bared end of an electric wire may beinserted through both, and. a screw bolt in said conductive memberengaging said jaw member to cause the edges of said jaw aperture to gripopposite sides of said wire end, said bolt having a head engageable bythe tip of said wire to limit to a predetermined'length the portion ofsaid wire which may pass through said passage.

10. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body,a U-shaped conductive member mounted thereon, the side portions of the Ubeing beneath the surface of the body, and having bearing notches formedtherein, a jaw member moving between said side portions and havingtrunnion bearings pivoting within said notches, said body having apassage and said jaw having an aperture each for the reception of abared end of an electric wire, said jaw being inclined ,at an angle tothe wire, and a screw bolt in said conductive member having its endengaging said jaw at a point remote from said pivot causing the edges ofsaid jaw aperture to grip said wire on opposite sides, and pressing saidwire against the wall of said passage.

11. An electric Wire terminal connection com'-' prising an insulatingbody, a U-shaped conductive member mounted on one side thereof, the sideportions of the U being beneath the surface of the body and havingbearing notches formed therein, a jaw member moving between said sideportions and having trunnion bearings pivoting within said notchesaffording a fixed pivot for said jaw member, said body having a passageand said jaw having an aperture each for the reception of a bared end ofan electric wire, said jaw being inclined at an angle to the wire, andmeans carried by said conductive member having its end engaging said jawat a point remote from said pivot causing the edges of said jaw apertureto grip said wire simultaneously on opposite sides,

and pressing said wire against the wall of said passage.

12. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body,a U-shaped conductive member mounted thereon, the side portions of the Ubeing beneath the surface of the body, and having bearing notches formedtherein, a jaw member moving between said side portions and havingtrunnion bearings pivoting within said notches, said body having apassage and said jaw having an aperture each for the reception of apassage.

13. An electric wire terminal connection comprising an insulating body,a U-shaped conductive member mounted thereon, the side portions of the Ubeing beneath the surface of the body, and having bearing notches formedtherein, a

Jaw member moving between said side portions and having trunnionbearings pivoting within said notches, said body having a passage andsaid jaw having an aperture each for the reception of a bared end of anelectric wire, said jaw being inclined at an angle to the wire, and aleaf spring member carried by said conductive member having its endengaging said jaw at a point remote from said pivot causing the edges ofsaid jaw aperture to grip said wire on opposite sides, and pressing saidwire against the wall of said passage, said jaw member having anextension for moving said jaw against the spring action to release saidwire.

14. A terminal connection as set forth in claim 12, wherein one part ofthe spring member overlies said conductive member and another part ofthe spring member underlies the jaw member and has a finger extendingthrough and pressing upon said jaw member.

15. An electric wire terminal connection comprising a conductive member,a pivoted jaw member mounted in notches in said conductive memher, saidconductive member having a hole and said jaw member having an aperturepositioned so that the bared end 0! a wire may be inserted through saidaperture into said hole, and means mounted on said conductive member andacting on the jaw member to tilt it relative to said wire in a directionto cause the edges of said Jaw aperture firmly to'grip opposite sides ofsaid wire end simultaneously, the direction of tilt being such that apull on said wire increases the gripping action of the Jaw member onboth sides of the wire simultaneously.

16. An electric wire terminal connection as claimed in claim 15 havingmeans fixedly positioned relative to said conductive member againstwhich a portion of the bared end of the conductor near to the portiongripped by the jaw member is pressed as said tilting means acts on saidjaw member in order 'to support the conductor against a bending tendencyof said jaw member.

ROBERT H. BENTLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,678,745 Schellenger July 31,1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 55,376 Norway 1935 331,106France July 18, 1903 386,498 Great Britain 1933

